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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27525997">Love isn't what it seems</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lrrahmani/pseuds/Lrrahmani'>Lrrahmani</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hannibal (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-08 06:01:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,120</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27525997</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lrrahmani/pseuds/Lrrahmani</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Follow the Journey of Special Agent Lydia Forbes. She works with Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter. But working with them makes her question everything about herself. Will she find love or find death instead?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hannibal/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Apertif</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lydia Forbes is introduced into the story.<br/>Lydia and Jack Crawford meet each other and meet Will Graham.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>(Gunshots are being heard. Sirens. Agents are talking to one another. A heartbeat is slowly beating. Pain is radiating throughout the body. The air is getting harder to breathe.)</p><p>(Lydia wakes up abruptly gasping for air; looking beside her and realizing that she is safe and all alone in her motel room)</p><p>(Lydia looks at her alarm clock and sees that it's 3 a.m; she sighs and slowly gets up to get ready for her morning run)</p><p>(She enjoys the scenery out in the field beside her motel; she runs for about an hour and heads back to her room)</p><p>(She gets ready for the day; she puts on her badge and holster) ( Her Badge reads Special Agent Forbes) (She works for the Behavior Analysis Unit; she's been with the unit for about ten years working alongside Jack Crawford; some say he's a hard ass, but he is a kind soul)</p><p>Her phone rings, it shows Jack Calling; she picks up saying, "Hey Jack," Jack responds with, "Hey Lydia, we have a new lead in the abduction cases; another girl has gone missing."</p><p>Lydia responds with, " Wow! this guy is getting worse and worse; what's the girl's name," Jack says," Elise Nicholas, her parents reported her missing." Lydia responds with, " Are we going to see her parents?. Jack says, " No, not yet; we are going to see someone else; he goes by the name Will Graham; he works as a teacher at the academy.</p><p>Lydia is confused. Lydia" Why are we going to see him" Jack sighs " He is fascinating; he works differently with crime scenes; he can go through different points of view. Lydia" And does he know we are going to see him? I bet not." Jack says, " I'm going to pick you up in about 10. Are you still at the motel?" Lydia responds, " Yep, I'm still here."</p><p>Lydia hangs up and goes outside to wait for Jack; 10 minutes has gone by, and she approaches Jack's car. She gets inside and hugs Jack.</p><p>Lydia asks, " How are you and Bella doing"? Jack responds with, " We are doing good; she's at another NATO Convention, she has been asking for you to join us for dinner multiple times; when are you going to join us?" Lydia laughs and says," I'm free next week; we can have dinner then. Jack looks at her and smiles, " I'm glad, and she's going to be so happy."</p><p>Lydia asks, " So this Will Graham guy do you think he's the right guy to work with the unit?" Jack sighs and says, " I get it; he doesn't seem like the guy for our team, but we need all the help we can get." Lydia looks worried and says, " Isn't he unstable; that's why he didn't pass the FBI's screening" Jack looks at her and says, "Yes, but he's doing better."</p><p>Lydia looks outside and sees that they are at the academy. Lydia and Jack head out of the car and walk to the academy's front door. Both her and Jack go past security and head to Will Graham's Class.</p><p>Lydia hears from Will Graham, "I am expecting a higher level of scrutiny." All the students leave, and it's just Will Graham who is putting his papers away. Jack and her approach Will Graham.</p><p>Jack introduces himself to Will Graham " Will Graham, I am special agent Jack Crawford; he points to Lydia, and Lydia says, " I'm Special Agent Forbes" Jack responds, " We both work for the Behavioral Analysis Unit" Will Graham doesn't look up and says "We've met, but I never met you, Agent Forbes." Lydia smiles and says, "That's alright," Jack Crawford says," We disagreed about the museum that we recently opened," Will responds with, "I disagreed with the name; The Evil Minds Research Museum A little hammy Jack don't you think.</p><p>Jack ignores the comment and says, " I understand that it's not easy for you to be sociable." Lydia gets that comment; she isn't sociable either. Will Graham says, " I'm teaching them; I'm not looking at them, it's not very sociable.</p><p>Lydia approaches Will and pushes his glasses back to his face; Will looks at her so that their eyes meet up instead of him looking down. Lydia says, "Where do you think you fall on the spectrum," Will responds with, " Close to Aspergers and Autistics than narcissists and sociopaths. Jack looks up at Will and says, " You can empathize with narcissists and sociopaths. Will shakes his head and says, " I can empathize with anyone less to do with personality disorders than an imagination.</p><p>Jack whispers to him, " Can we borrow your imagination"?</p><p>Lydia and Jack leave with Will Graham to Jacks Office. Lydia goes over to Will and says, " I hope you don't mind helping us with this case that we have to speak with you about". Will looks up at her and doesn't say anything; he hasn't ever heard anyone say that to him.</p><p>Jack, Lydia, and Will walk towards his office.</p><p>Jack explains," 8 girls from 8 different Minnesota campuses were abducted in the last eight months" Will looks confused and says, " I thought they were 7," Lydia says, " We tagged the Eighth before we walked into your lecture," Jack says" we have no bodies and nothing coming out of bodies." Will says, " Those girls were taken somewhere else, then I don't know where."</p><p>(Lydia and Jack share a worried glance at each other.)</p><p>Jack Crawford says, "All girls were abducted on a Friday, so they're not reported missing until Monday. So he's covering his tracks; he needs the weekend to do it. (Lydia grabs a tack and pins it to the map, and she grabs Elise's picture and gives it to Will.) Will asks, " Number Eight?" Lydia responds with a sigh, " Yep. Elise Nichols, she disappeared Friday; she was supposed to housesit for parents and feed the dog. I remember when I was in college, I would always have to house sit for my parents. "</p><p>Will Graham says, " One through seven are dead; he's not keeping them; he's got himself a new one. Jack looks at will and says, " So we can focus on Elise Nichols try to find some evidence of the killer. (Will looks up at the map and says,) " The girls are very mall of America. Jack comes in " Same hair and eye color" Lydia also" Same age. Height. What is it about all these college girls? Why is he choosing them? What's his purpose?</p><p>Will looks at Lydia and says, " It's about one of them; he's kind of like Willy Wonka; hidden among the chocolate bars is the intended victim in the metaphor we will find our golden ticket.</p><p>Jack says strongly, " I'd like you to get closer to this. Will shakes his head and picks up his stuff to leave and says, " You have Heimlich and Bloom. They do all the stuff that I do" Jack looks mad " That's not true, is it? Lydia tries to stop jack by saying, " Jack let's not force this on him" Jack ignores her and says, " You have a specific way of thinking; you make jumps you can't explain. Will shouts, " The evidence explains." Jack calms down, " Help us find some evidence."</p><p>The atmosphere is tense in the room. Lydia tries to clear the air by saying," So where are we headed? shall we start with the Nichols House". They all look at her, and jack agrees to say, " Sure, let's go." Jack leaves the room, and Will also goes to leave, but Lydia stops him by grabbing his shoulder. Lydia says, " Hey, Will do you mind if I ride with you. Will nods his head, and they both leave to his car.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Apertif part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lydia and Will have their first conversation together.<br/>Elise Nichols is found dead.<br/>Lydia's past is somewhat found.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>(Will doesn't look at Lydia at all when they are driving)</p><p>Lydia says quietly, "Sorry about Jack; he can be very hard sometimes, but he means well."</p><p>Will says, "When has Jack Crawford meant well and asked for anyone's help." Lydia responds, "Not a lot; he's a tough man to get him to trust you. Will looks at her and says, "He trusts you; how did that happen?" Lydia laughs and says, "Well, I've been at the bureau for about 10 years, helped Jack with his cases, and one day we asked me to meet his wife, which I was stunned with, and since then, we have been friends.</p><p>Lydia adds in, " Outside of work, he's like a carebear" Will laughs at the comment and looks away. Lydia asks, " So Will, what's your story?" Will says, " Well, I sometimes work with the police department for some cases and teach at the academy at times. I also fish sometimes and take care of my dogs." Lydia smiles and says, " Wow! that's amazing. Will, how many dogs do you have"? Will says, " About 6 dogs at home".</p><p>(The conversation is cut short because they are at the Nichols house)</p><p>(Will and Lydia both head out of the car and meet Jack outside the home and they head to the front door. )(Jack Knocks on the door and waits for someone to answer the door.) (The door opens, and Mr. Nichols answers and says, "Yes? Who are you?"</p><p>Jack Crawford " Hello I'm Special Agent Crawford," showing him his badge, (and also Lydia shows her badge).</p><p>Mr. Nichols says, " Come in, please."</p><p>Jack, Will, and Lydia all stand in front of the Nichols in the kitchen. Mrs/Mr. Nichols are very teary-eyed and looked like they haven't slept in years. Lydia gets a bit teary-eyed; meeting with families are tough for her, but she composes her self.</p><p>Mrs. Nichols talks first and says," Elise looks like the other girls right" (She looks at Jack). Jack answers her, " She fits the profile that we created." Mr. Nichols almost cries and says, "Could Elise still be alive"? Lydia sighs and looks at the Nichols with sincerity in her eyes. "We have no way of knowing." Will comes into the conversation and asks, "How's the dog? Mr. and Mrs. Nichols look at each other, Will says, "Elise was supposed to feed it. Was the dog weird when you came home? It didn't eat all weekend; it must have been hungry.</p><p>MR. NICHOLS looks at Will and says, " I didn't notice." Will looks away from Mr. Nichols and turns to Lydia and Jack, and he says, " He took her from here. She got on a train. She came home. She fed the dog. And he took her." (Jack doesn't hesitate to pull out his phone and dial.)</p><p>JACK CRAWFORD talks into his phone. "The Nichols house is a crime scene. I need ERT immediately. Zeller, Katz, Jimmy Price, a photographer." Mr. Nichols looks worried and says, " Why is our home now a crime scene"? Will ignores the question and says, " Can I see your daughter's room." Mr. Nicols shows Will up to the room. Lydia is left alone with Mrs. Nichols and says," Can I get you anything any coffee or tea." Mrs. Nicols says, " No, Thank You." Lydia tells her, " It's going to be okay; we will find her" (She holds her hand)</p><p>Minutes later, The door opens and comes in Brian Zeller, Jimmy Price, and Beverly Katz come in and approach them. Beverly looks at Lydia and says, " Hey, Jack called us." Lydia stands up and says, " Yea, Will is upstairs with inside her room." Mr. Nicols comes back downstairs, and he's crying; Mrs. Nichols goes to him and asks," Honey, What's the matter"? Mr. Nicols says," Elise, she's dead! she's in her bedroom".</p><p>Both Mr/ Mrs. Nichols burst out crying, holding each other. Lydia feels for the couple, and she goes to them, trying to comfort them. Lydia asks," Mr/Mrs. Nichols; I'm very sorry for your loss. Do you want to get some fresh air outside, possibly?". Mr. and Mrs. Nichols nod their head and go outside in their backyard, hugging each other on the bench. Lydia sighs and goes back to the living room and sees Brian and Jimmy.</p><p>Brian says, " Hey, Lydia, How are they doing?". Lydia says, "They are not doing good at all; they just lost their daughter. I don't think I'll ever recover from that". Jimmy looks at Lydia and says, " Beverly is upstairs trying to find some evidence in her room." Lydia looks at the stairs and says," Okay, I'll join her."</p><p>Lydia walks up the stairs and hears Jack say, "You're not supposed to be in here." (Lydia joins the group standing beside Beverly). Beverly says, "Found antler velvet in two of the wounds, I was looking for velvet in the other wounds, but I was interrupted."</p><p>Brian comes up behind Lydia, frightening her, and says," Deer and elk pin their prey, put all their weight on the antlers and try to suffocate them.". Jack answers, "Elise Nichols was strangled and suffocated. Ribs were broken." Will joins in and says," Antler velvet actually promotes healing. He may have put it there on purpose". Jack looks disbelieved" He wanted to heal her." Will says," He was trying to undo what he did, and this is his apology." Everyone look at Will, and Will asks," Does anyone have any aspirin"? Lydia takes out her purse and hands her aspirin to Will.</p><p>(Will goes home, Brian, Jimmy, Lydia, Beverly, and Jack's head back to the office)</p><p>Lydia goes inside her office and sits on a chair and tries to get her feelings in check; this case is doing a number on her; memories are coming back from her past, memories she doesn't want to come back to her. She hears a knock at her door and says, " Come in." Brian comes in and closes the door. Brian asks her, "Hey, how's it going?" Lydia sighs," This case is bringing back so many memories from the past it's crashing down on me."</p><p>Lydia looks like she's going to cry. Brian goes to her and hugs her tight. She returns the hug. Lydia comes out of the hug and wipes her tears away. Lydia says," You know, after our divorce, I thought we weren't ever going to see each other again, but I'm glad that you are here." Brian smiles at her and says, "I'm always going to be here for you."</p><p>The next day starts, Lydia and Beverly try to find some evidence from her belongings; Lydia sees something embedded in her nightgown; she grabs her tweezers and shows Beverly and asks," What is this? Metal Shavings?". Lydia was about to call Jack when she hears another agent named Tim Clancy ask for her and telling her that Mrs. Nichols is here to talk with her. Lydia tells him to bring Mrs. Nichols to her office Lydia looks at Beverly and asks, " Are you okay if I head out and speak with Mrs. Nicols?" Beverly smiles at her and says, " Yea, go ahead; I'll finish processing the metal."</p><p>Lydia leaves the room and heads to her office and finds Mrs. Nichols there and she closes her office door. Lydia asks," Mrs. Nichols, how are you doing?" Mrs. Nicols says," I can't get the image of Elise out of my head; her lying there lifeless; she's my little girl." Mrs. Nichols cries, and Lydia goes to her and hugs her and says, " Don't think of Elise lifeless think of her before all of the good memories you have of her; it can help you live a bit better."</p><p>Mrs. Nichols nods her head. Lydia tells her," We will find the man who did this to your daughter." Mrs. Nichols leaves her office, and Lydia is left to her own thoughts, but her phone ringing ruins them. She answers her phone, and it's her adoptive mother calling her asking her to spend the week with her and my adoptive father. She tells her that's she's coming tomorrow. She heads home to pack, but she's interrupted by another call, but this time its Jack. She answers, and Jack tells her that a psychiatrist by the name of Doctor Hannibal Lecter will be joining them shortly and that she should join them; she tells him that she will be right there.</p><p>(Lydia sighs and collects her thoughts and she heads to Jack's Office)</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Apertif part 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lydia meets Hannibal Lecter<br/>Lydia finds the suspect Minnesota Shrike.<br/>Will she survive or not?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>(Lydia walks across the academy, trying to get into Jack's office, but she gets distracted by seeing something that has haunted her deeply, her dead sister looking at her. She gets scared and accidentally bumps into someone.)</p><p>Lydia says," I'm sorry." The man says, " That's quite alright" He lets go of her shoulder and says, " If I may, can you kindly show me to Jack Crawford's Office."</p><p>Lydia looks at him and says," Oh Yes, are you, Doctor Lecter?". Hannibal says, "Yes, I am, and you are?" Lydia says," Oh, I'm Special Agent Lydia Forbes. I was just headed to Jack's Office; I'll walk you there". Hannibal says," Thank you" and walks with Lydia to Jack's office. Both Lydia and Hannibal see Will and Jack sitting and talking to each other. Lydia knocks on his door, and Jack ushers them to come in.</p><p>Jack stands up and shakes Doctor Lecter's hand. Jack says," Forgive me, Will this is Doctor Hannibal Lecter he's a psychiatrist helping us also, Doctor Lecter; this is Will Graham."Hannibal goes to shake will's hand but sees him not looking at them, so Hannibal puts his hand away and sits down with Will and Lydia.</p><p>Hannibal asks, "Tell me, then, how many confessions?" Jack answers him," About 12 dozen. No one knew details until this morning; everyone knew some police officer took a picture of the body and sent it to his friends, and Freddie Lounds ran it through tattle crime".</p><p>Lydia scoffs and says, "Of course." Will says," Tasteless."Will grabs Hannibal's attention) and asks," Have trouble with taste"?. Will says," My thoughts aren't tasty." Hannibal agrees and says," Nor mine. No barriers." Hannibal notices how Will isn't looking at anyone and asks," Not fond of eye contact, are you?" Will still doesn't look at Hannibal and says," Eyes are distracting. You see too much, and you don't see too much, and it's hard to focus when you think those whites are really white or they must have hepatitis, or is that a burst vein?" Will looks at him and says, "So I try to avoid eyes whenever possible."</p><p>Lydia is in her own mind and trying to dissect why she saw her dead sister today; something must be wrong with her. She must be hallucinating. She sees Jack look at her, worried, and also Hannibal looks at her. She goes back into reality and hears. Will says, "Whose profile are you working on? (to Jack) Whose profile is he working on?</p><p>Hannibal says, " I'm sorry, Will. Observing is what we do. I can't shut mine off any more than you can shut yours off."</p><p>Will says to Jack, "Please don't psychoanalyze me. You won't like me when I'm psychoanalyzed. (WIll leaves the room)</p><p>Lydia gets a call from Beverly and politely excuses herself; Beverly tells her that metal was part of a pipe threader, so Lydia heads out to her car and researches different construction sites in the area.</p><p>Night Falls</p><p>Lydia lies in bed, unable to sleep at all, and she closes her eyes, but the fear of having the same nightmares every night scare her. She tosses and turns all night and can get a restless sleep for about 2 hours. Lydia wakes up and gets ready for the day and tells Jack that she will be at different construction sites today. Lydia tried a bunch of construction sites, and she found one that caught her eye. She knocks on camper trails doors, and out comes a woman in her late 40s)</p><p>Lydia says," Hello Mam, I am special agent Lydia Forbes with the FBI. I was wondering If we can talk inside.</p><p>The woman lets her in the trailer.</p><p>Lydia looks around the room and asks her, " Mam, you don't mind if I take a look around. " The woman tells her," Go ahead."</p><p>Lydia looks through boxes and bookshelves, trying to find anything peculiar. Lydia hears the woman talking to someone on the phone frantically. Lydia finds a resignation letter with the name Garrett Jacob Hobbs.</p><p>She asks the woman," Who is Garrett Jacob Hobbs?" The woman answers with," He's one of our pipe threaders. That's his resignation letter." Lydia asks her, "Does he have a daughter Eighteen with plain skin and with brown hair. The woman says, " Maybe. I don't know. I don't keep company with these people." Lydia leaves with the information of Garrett Jacob Hobbs. She heads to his address.</p><p>She's at Garrett Jacob Hobbs residence, and she knocks on the door, a girl answers) Lydia says," Hello, my name is Special Agent Lydia Forbes with the FBI is Garrett Jacob Hobbs home. The girl says," Yes, he's in the kitchen; come in." Lydia walks in.</p><p>(Scene turns to Will and Hannibal at the camper trailer that Lydia was just at)</p><p>Will and Hannibal go inside. Will says," I'm with the FBI, and I'm trying to find some information about one of your pipe threaders.".The woman sighs, " Don't you people keep tabs with each other." (Both Will and Hannibal look confused.) The woman reads their face and says," There was an agent earlier she asked the same question, and she found one of our pipe threaders Garrett Jacob Hobbs she left about 1 hour ago".</p><p>Will grabs all the information on each pipe threaders, including Garrett Jacob Hobbs, and leaves the office. Hannibal purposefully makes the boxes outside fall, and Will gets them all. Hannibal goes back inside and calls Garrett Jacob Hobbs, and a girl answers; Hannibal asks for Garrett Jacob Hobbs; he hears the girl say to her father, "Dad, it's for you." Hannibal says, "Garrett Jacob Hobbs" The man answers, " Yes," Hannibal tells him, "They know."</p><p>(Scene goes back to Lydia at the Hobbs Residence)</p><p>Lydia walks around the home to see any information on Hobbs. She walks towards the kitchen, but before she could look straight ahead, she gets hit on the back of the head hard". Lydia falls and tries to get up and grab her gun, but she sees Garrett Jacob Hobbs in front of her with her gun. Lydia goes to stop him, but the sound of a gun goes off, and Lydia falls, pain radiating from her stomach.</p><p>Lydia gasps for air and struggles. Mrs. Hobbs tries to help her but is stopped by her husband Garrett shouts," Don't! Don't help her!". Mrs. Hobbs and her daughter cry out and hold each other. Garrett Jacob Hobbs tells his wife to come to him, but she shakes her head, but this time he shouts at her. He drops the gun away from them and grabs a knife; he stalks towards his wife and quickly cuts her throat; he tries to cut her more, but she runs outside; he heads to his daughter next in the kitchen crying. Garrett Jacob Hobbs knowing that they will take his daughter away from him.</p><p>Lydia tries to stand up, but the pain is too much for her, and before she knows it, she coughs up blood. She sees Garrett Jacob Hobbs next to his daughter with a knife to her throat. She hears a loud noise coming from outside and sees Will shouting, "Garrett Jacob Hobbs FBI," Lydia shouts," Will in here." Will looks at Lydia and tries to go to her, but she tells him to go to him. Lydia's vision slowly goes away, and she falls into a deep slumber.</p><p>Hannibal comes in and sees Lydia on the floor and goes to her feeling for a heartbeat; when he hears one, he looks at the wound and tries to dress the wound with his suit jacket. He hears multiple gunshots coming from the kitchen and walks in to see Will trying to stop the girl's bleeding on the floor; Hannibal wants not to help, but this can be beneficial to him in his mind. He stops Will's hands, grabs Abigail Hobbs's neck up, and cuffs it to stop the bleeding.</p><p>Will hears sirens outside and sees EMT coming in, one going to Lydia and one going to Abigail Hobbs. Will escapes the house and leaves to head to his car. Jack comes in and sees Lydia on the floor, unconscious with a gunshot wound; he goes to her and asks the EMT, "How is she? Is she alive". The EMT says," She's alive barely; we have to get her to the hospital quickly." They take Lydia into their ambulance, and Jack goes in with them, holding Lydia's hand.</p>
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